[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3756 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3756
To require the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of
Agriculture to complete an interagency report on the effects of special
recreation permits on environmental justice communities, and for other
purposes.
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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 30, 2023
Ms. Tlaib (for herself and Ms. Stansbury) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in
addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
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A BILL
To require the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of
Agriculture to complete an interagency report on the effects of special
recreation permits on environmental justice communities, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Environmental Justice in Recreation
Permitting Act''.
SEC. 2. INTERAGENCY REPORT ON THE BENEFITS OF SPECIAL RECREATION
PERMITS TO ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMUNITIES.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Environmental justice community.--The term
``environmental justice community'' means a community with
significant representation of communities of color, low-income
communities, or Tribal and indigenous communities, that
experiences, or is at risk of experiencing, higher or more
adverse human health or environmental effects than other
communities.
(2) Federal land management agency; federal recreational
lands and waters; secretaries.--The terms ``Federal land
management agency'', ``Federal recreational lands and waters'',
and ``Secretaries'' have the meanings given the terms in
section 802 of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16
U.S.C. 6801).
(3) Recreation service provider.--The term ``recreation
service provider'' means an individual or entity that--
(A) provides outfitting, guiding, or other
recreation services; or
(B) conducts recreational or competitive events,
including incidental sales.
(4) Special recreation permit.--The term ``special
recreation permit'' means a permit issued by a Federal land
management agency for specialized individual or group uses of
Federal recreational lands and waters, including--
(A) for outfitting, guiding, or other recreation
services;
(B) for recreation or competitive events, which may
include incidental sales;
(C) for the use of--
(i) a special area; or
(ii) an area in which use is allocated;
(D) for motorized recreational vehicle use in
compliance with an applicable travel management plan or
other regulation; and
(E) for a group activity or event.
(b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Secretaries shall submit to the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources
of the House of Representatives a report that describes--
(1) the estimated use of special recreation permits by
recreation service providers serving environmental justice
communities;
(2) any national, regional, State, local, or site-specific
policies, including any policies required under the Federal
Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6801 et seq.), that
facilitate public land access for recreation service providers
serving environmental justice communities;
(3) any case studies that may provide illustrative examples
of the manner in which special recreation permits,
partnerships, or cooperative agreements are being effectively
used by land managers for the purpose of providing public land
access to recreation service providers serving environmental
justice communities;
(4) any barriers to public land access for recreation
service providers serving environmental justice communities;
and
(5) any recommendations for agency policy, or if necessary,
action by Congress, to encourage and simplify public land
access for recreation service providers serving environmental
justice communities.
(c) Voluntary Participation by Recreation Service Providers.--For
purposes of preparing the report under subsection (b), the
Secretaries--
(1) shall contact all existing or prospective recreation
service providers to request a voluntary estimate of the number
of user days used by or, in the case of a prospective
recreation service provider, expected to be used by,
individuals from environmental justice communities during the
period covered by the report;
(2) shall request from recreation service providers and
interested members of the public any other information required
for the report; and
(3) shall not use the participation of, or the provision of
information to the Secretaries by, a recreation service
provider under this subsection as a condition of a special
recreation permit.
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